Dowry Deaths In India: The Story Of The Powerless

[MAITRI]

By Amritapa Basu:

‘Bride goes missing – A case was filed wherein the bride filed a
complaint with the police against her in-laws, of torture for more
dowry. After many pleadings, the in-laws were released from custody
but, shockingly, the bride was missing from the next day. No clue has
been found till now about her whereabouts. Police has refused to
comment on the issue…’

Sadly, in an age where technology is developing at such a fast pace
and impossible dreams are becoming a reality of our daily life, we
still come across such news at some corner of the newspaper. A Times
of India report on 21 February, 2011 reads, “Recently, 28-year-old R
Sushila was admitted to the burns ward of the Kilpauk Medical College
Hospital (KMCH), Chennai after she tried to immolate herself. When she
died a week later with 90% burns, it was recorded as a suicide.
However, nurses said she had told them she committed suicide unable to
bear the pressure and harassment from her husband and in-laws for
dowry.” “We get around eight burns cases everyday and of those five
are women and they are mostly reported as cases of accidents or
suicide.

It is only when we talk to the women that we realise these are cases
of dowry harrassment by the husband and the relatives,” said Dr V
Jayaraman, head of the burns ward, KMCH. A majority of these deaths,
nurses say, are recorded as suicides by the husband and his relatives
and in some cases by the woman herself. As per a TIME magazine report,
dowry deaths in India have gone up 15-fold from 400 cases in 1980s to
5,800 in 1990s. National Crime Bureau of the Government of India
reported 6,000 dowry related deaths in 1995. These are official
figures, reality must be petrifying. Though The Dowry Prohibition Act,
1961 was enacted way back in 1961, the rising figures tell us an
absolute different story. More often than not, dowry deaths are
registered as suicides or accidents. Victims are doused in fire and
set ablaze by the in-laws and in case some foul is detected, the case
immediately becomes a suicide-the bride could not adjust in the new
family, and so she committed suicide.

In India, ancient texts describe women as ‘Power’ which rules over
God’s creation. But current scenario shows a contrast picture. Women
have never been fortunate enough to hold that position. Marriage plays
a significant role in making or marring a woman’s fortune. Not all
many but many Indian women fall prey to the monster of dowry. Earlier
the dowry system was prevalent only in the upper classes who
considered it an ill-omen to send their daughter said to be the
Goddess of Wealth according to Indian mythology, empty-handed to her
in-laws house. Therefore, they gave her the articles required for
daily household. Daughter’s share of her father’s property was also
sent as ‘gift’. With the passage of time, the significance and purpose
of dowry changed and it has become a social menace that ails the
society now. Today a cultural idea has become a corrupted one and a
blessing has changed into a curse. One of the main reasons is the
growing greed of money, power and status. They dream of a luxurious
living out of the money that the bride brings in as dowry. Thus, it is
seen that most of the victims belong to middle class or lower strata
of the society. Inability to bring in more dowry often result in the
brutal murder of the bride herself. Burning her alive or torturing her
to such a severe extent that she commits suicide as a panacea to all
her sufferings.

The sacred union called marriage has been reduced to mere financial
transaction. The huge dowry demands have led to female infanticide and
selective abortions. It was heart-wrenching to see a selective
abortion advertisement which read as – ‘Spend five thousand now to
save five lakhs later.’ The only way to overcome the problem of dowry
is by educating girls and making them independent. According to the
statistics, nearly 40% of women are married before the age of 18 and
almost 63% women are illiterate in rural areas.

Social awareness programs can also prove to be useful. Bridegrooms
must not ask for dowry and bride must make a firm decision to say a
strict ‘no’ to families which ask for dowry. The likes of Kanchan,
residing in the outskirts of Lucknow, who refused to go ahead with her
marriage and asked the guests to leave her place and later lodged a
dowry demand complaint, are very few. These may be insignificant
beside huge statistics data but definitely worth applauding and stand
to be examples for others. High dowry demands have sparked off
numerous social and psychological problems such as female suppression,
indebtedness and suicides. It is a shame for India that the father of
the daughter has to bribe the bridegroom’s family to take off the
‘burden’. Dowry is a stumbling block for our developing country. When
India is marching ahead aiming at social equality and improvement,
women empowerment, dowry is definitely a curse.

Irony lies in the fact that many international peace pacts are being
signed when numerous domestic violence cases are taking place within
the four walls of the house.




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